Chapter THE PROBLEM OF STAIELESS INDTAN CITIZENS IN CEYLON: HISTORICAL ORIGINS S. Anuzsiya Senior Lecturer in History Faculty of Arts and Culture South Eastern University of Sri Lanka Oluvil Sri Lanka INTRODUCTION The problem of political and legal status of the persons of Indian origin set- tled in Ceylon - loosely stated the Indo - Ceylon question - is a bitter legacy of the British colonial rule. When the British exercised sway over the South Asian region both India and Sri Lanka, fbrmerly known as Ceylon, were under .o**on subjection to a western imperial power. As there were no bound- aries within ih. Britirh Empire in South Asia, labourers from India moved freeiy to Ceylon owing to the geographical proximity of the two countries. Imperial economic interests encouraged such mobility of labour from one colonial region to another within the Empire. Indians migrated to the other parts of the British Empire, such as Burma, Malaya, now called Malaysia, Fiji and South Africa, and settled in those lands.2s6 As long as the British impe- rial rule lasted, the economic security of Indians settled abroad was not dis- turbed, because ofthe protection afforded to them by British rulers. The case of migration of Indian indentured labour to Ceylon illustrates the point that the British colonial polvef, in order to promote the economic interest of the ruling class, encouiaged the mobility of Indian labour to the ---_ 256. \MI{. Wriggin s, Ceylon: Dilemmas of aNew Nation, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey (1960), p.712. t4 132 Facets of Contemporary History plantations owned by the Britishers in ceylon. Both the promotion of coloni_ :1; :*:l^:*11", f,,*l or th 1s o*ir, i" Ji,",il_ii,-Siu,ne d t o pr o du c ethe migration of indian labtur t" c"yr"". rh" f".i-ihr1;h;ffi;r';fl:T:::to ceylon to work in the plantations ih.r"-"r. wiliing to Jo so, because suchmigration afforded themin escape from their n"""r,i _"rii.t .r, condition. THE MIGRATION OF INDIAN LABOURERS TO CEYLON: The periodic famines in South India owing to the failure of the monsoon, over - population and the consequent pressrrE o.r rand in ,,., "g.r.uiirrr;i;;;greatlv helped Britishers 19 s", , it"rdf *6t-;];; labour from SoutirIndia to develop their coffeJ piantatior. *hiri, *"." ,tlrt.d first ln Ceylonby them, before they turned their t r.ra_to tlr. proJ,r.tt;;;?;;;.;#'ilil.: these, other factors such as "the harsh zu;,;;'%;iri"-, low wages, ex_panding populationcompeting for scarce resources and. entrenched aspects ofsocial structure such as th. .i.t" system,,, herped ;h; fI;* of Indian labourinto ceylon.2s8 India provided a steady Fpply "r.rr""p iruo* that the devel_qpmrt of planration economy requirld. 'Sirr.. u"ir, ir." Government of In_dian Dependency and the colonial bou"rr-"r.,r of C"yior,;;;';il;;l,ilil\&hitehall, the free flow of cheap Indian into Ceyron became possibre. Thecharacter of the_ governments ir- the two coroniri .o.-t.r"s was very muchsimilar; both, ruled bv the British civilization;; ;q;;;;Ji" p."*"i,"g irr"interest of the British capitalists.25e ---' -vlersulL The problem of "stateless" tmils of Indian origin in ceyion arose out ofthe migration of Indian rabour from India a" c.yi;;il;; the British coloni_al ruie" It was primarily, caused uy ti" economic interest ir th. British rulineclass. k remained moribund dr.,ng ihe coroniarp"rioJ*"t"; ffiji.j,*iliceylon were under subjectio".. oiry.when a;yi;-il.a-e i,dependent in1948, the problem assumed politicridi-.".io"i ,rJ;;;-" a vexatious is-sue between the two sovereifn states "if"J* ,"i *ra;. The historical factors that prod"uced the contemporary problem of ,.state_less" Indian citizens_ in ceylon ,." .,r,"a above. a.r'.*r.i*ation of the his_torical context in which the problem arose is given below. Today, sri Lanka is famous for its quality tea which it exports to other coun_tries' But the story was different in the pait. The n.ii*t.Ipltalists and Indianlabourers who contributed to the d"r"lop-"nt of the tea plantation industry 'Z5zl;" LrlApta, poriticar and civir Status of indians in ceyron, Gaya prasad. and sons, Agra(1963), p. l. 258' Mayan viji, where Serfdom Thrives; The Plantation tmils of Sri Lanka, Thmil InformationCenrre, Madras Il9g7J, p. Z.259. Babrr Lal Gupra, op. cit., p. 4. **- -of present day Sri Lanka did not start with tea plantations. The British first -,i"J"."a.off.. plantations in colonial Ceylo1. The period between i855il 1880 i, d"r.rib.d as the "coffee era" in Cey1on.260In fact, Indial labourers ;;;; C"ylon first to work in the coffee plantations owned by the British' ih.r, th" giitish switched over to tea plantaiions and the Indian workers were .-pf"V"J in tea plantations. This will be clear from the narration that follows: The first coffee plantations in ceylon were established in the 1820's and t}r. ?"rt batch of South Indian tamil labourers arrived in 1823'261 During iir" .oloriri days, tie planters found it difficult to recruit local Sinhalese irborrr"r, for t(e Sinhaiese peasants, traditionally us,ed to agricultural work, were unwilling to *o.k o' plantations. So the giitish plantation owners had io-i"of. .fr"*fr.r. f* t"bor.. They did not prefer Chinese workers because ;;;";;Jissatisfled with their turnout. Owing to the abolition of slaverv rr,rlSJa, ,t",r"r from Africa could not be brought in as plantation workers' ;1";;;, i[" or,ly a1ter.rr,irr" op"r, to the planters was^to import labour from South irrdia and South India was preferred because of its proximity' In colonial Ceyion, coffee production reigned supreme frorn the 1820's and reached its peak in 1869 when coffee to the tune of 939,000 c-wt' was pr"a"."a f.om j00,000 acres._ Thereafter, there was a decline in'coffee p-ro- 'J*d; owing to the spread of the disease, known as 'Leaf Fungus'. By 1885 coffee plants"were completely destroyed by that disease.262 After the demise of the coffee industry in the 1870's the planters took to tea production. Betwe"r, tgso and 1885, there was a rapid expanson 9!ii, proiuctiorr, the increase in the acreage being-ten times. From 1890 to 1900, ihe rate of increase was 100,000 acrei every five years. This rate of expansion slowed down after 1900. In 1946, the total area of tea plantation was some 550,000 acres.263 To facilitate the cultivation of tea on a large scale, the colonial Government "f C.A;; passed th" Cio*" Lands [Encroachment) ordinance in 1940' This t.girt.tio; t ro,r..d the British tea planters for it converted all forest waste l"id,s, uncultivated lands and unoccupied la.rds into the property of the.Crown, i.. ;l-,";;;eity of the Government of Ceylon. The lands acquired by the Gov- .rr,*"rrt ,rrd"ith. ordir"rr." were sold to planters at five shillings an acre'264 Facets of Contemporary History 133 Babu Lal Gupta, op. cit., P. 4' Mayan Viji, op. cit., p. 1. Mayan Viji, op. cit., P. l. WH. Wriggins, op. cit., PP- 55 - 56. Sachi Ponnambalam, The Nationai Question and the Thmil Liberation, Tamil Inforrnation Centre andZedBooks, London [1993), p' 7, quoted in Mayan Viji' op' cit'' p' 2' 260. 261. 263. 264. 134 Facets of ContemPorarY History METHOD OF RECRUITMENT: KANGANISYSTEM First, the production of coffee and later, the large scale cultivation of tea de- manded the employ-"riti irUourers. W. h"u"""oted earlier the factors that facilitated the steady';;t;;*;1of r"diu" labourers from India to Cevlon'26s The planter, ,aoptJi "^ri",fr"J of ,".*it-ent of indian labourers known as the Kanganisy,te-,'uu with 1 vi"l to J'awing a large' cheap labour force from Tamil - ,p"rt ii[^S""ih];;ir. fUir o.gr,irEd tysi.* of recruitment bv Kanganisbegan l, i-g-r-rrrd it was brnrr"diy the Government of Ceylon in 1939 when th. *igr]i"" ii".rf.iff"a irbo"r"rs was prohibited. The Kanganis were recruiting age-nls who were employed by the planters for the speci[ic ,"'r;" 9if*i1"g- f^b"u."., fo, "*iloy*"nt in tea pian- tations.z6T fn.V ,i.it"J South Iniia, especially the, districts of Thanjavur' Tiichirapalli, plrdh,,kl"olt'i, ri^*'"xi'af"'*..Td, Tlit"nelvellv' The main recruiting .r", *rr*Jiriri.r, .ro,-rrrd Trichirapalli which provided 75 per cent of the labour fbrce.z68 Originally th".ii"fini recruited.labourers from his kinsmen and from;.rrb;iirgJr. rh. falrily principle involved in recruit- ment made most workeis o" "" "*"" t;;d 'elatpd t'o^one another' The family principle *;;l;t;;;b"tdo""d' *rt"" tHe demand for increased labour arose and the ceyion Labour commission was established in 1904 ' The Kan- sanisnowstarted ;;;;;.; fro*^o"ttide their clans and villages' With the establishment of the Ceylon t-rbo,-r. cor"mission, the Kanqanicould no lonser be a free recruiting agent. 611"t I gOt f-t" 1,"9 first to get a license from thJcontroller of Indianlmmigrr.,t Lrborr i" c"yton.and tte license should be endorsed by the Ceylon Labour C.*"ritti""' H" had to get the approval of the village -rrrit-i"J Ut-g the recruits before the Labour Commission for inspection.zoe Though the new procedure introduced by the Government of Ceylon acted as a check "iirr5".i*ti* J-ii"x""eaiis,itdid not help the workers, since he continued to exploit them' THE EXPLOITATION OF WORKERS BY THE KANGANI At the time of recruitment, the Kangani advanced a zum of money to the la- bourer so that the recruit might travel iro- his home to the estate in ceylon where he was to be employed. Th" ;;;i; travelling expenses were debited to the worker,s ,;;";;i-ii',, tt" h;;;;;.b"grr,liit tli" witt' a debt' This ZeS. n f. PP.4 -6 ante' iAA. Kaniani, a Tamil word meaning a supervisor oi an overseer' 267 . Sabu Lal GuPta, oP' cit', P' I 1' 268. MaYan Viji, oP' cit', P' 3' 269. Ibid -Facets of Contemporary History 135 debt he could not wipe out because he had to take further loan for marriage, festive occasions and funerals.270 Because of the accumulation of his debt and his inability to pay back it in full to the Kangani, the worker remained prac- tically a bonded labourer throughout his life. In other words, the worker was tied jown to the estate and the Kangani took advantage of his indebtedness. Another factor known as the Tundu (chrt) system increased the indebted- ness of the.labourer and made him a serf. Because of the boom in tea culti- vation, there was keen competition for iabourers. The planters offered large sums of money as advances io the labourers through the Kanganis with a view io attracting efficient workers; but the Kanganipocketed^a lion's share of the advance, kttown asTimdu, and only a very small fraction of the money went to^ ,t-r. *or["rs. By the Tundu system, the employer had become the creditor of the labourer. In other words, the worker could not leave the estate unless he cleared his entire debt. Since his indebtedness permanently tied him to the estate, he became a serf to all intents and purposes; no new employer would take him into service unless the present employer agreed to release him and he wouid do so only if the worker cleared his debt.271 The Kanganis position was unassailable, because not only the indebted worker -r, Iorrrpietely dependent on him but also the employer could not recruit labourers without the help of the Kangani. The Kangani exploite-d the situation to his full a,lvanta[e. The transaction, known as the Tundu system, enabled the Kangani to tiansfer workers from one estate to another, since the new employ", ium willing to advance more than the amount owed by the labourer to tlre old employ et.272 The Kangani acted as a middle man bet*een planters and by -".rr, oi the TUndu system, the debt of the worker was transferred from tlre old employer to the new one. For doing his job, he got a commission which would be debited to the account of the labourer by f,i, ..r"* employer. The worker continued to suffer and the Tundu system which benefited the Kangani increased the indebtedness of the worker' The Tundu system was legally recognized. In 1908, the Ceylon Labour Commis- sion rectmmended itl abolitio". fn. Government abblished it in 1921, after the planters' association strongly pressed for its abolition.273 770. Babu Lal Gupta, op. cit., p. 14. 271. Mayan Viji, op. cit., p. 5. 217. Babu Lal Gupta, op. cit., p. 14. 273. Ibid., p. 15. The follo*ing purrrg" from the report submitted by the Marjorihanks and Maraki.ayar to the Govern*ent oflndia on the working of the Kangani system is quoted to illustrate the argument mentioned above' "lf the debt due (through 'the Kangani) to an estate by each labourer of a gang of, say, 20 averaged.rp".r3b, theKanganimightaskforRs. l0moreperhead. If hegotit,thedebt ,gai.rs't ea.h labourer would be rupees ten more in the book of the estate, though the extra rupees ten might not all or any of it reach the labourer. If the Kangani was refused the a-- Y 136 Facets of Contemporary History THE ATTITUDE OF COVERNMENT OF INDIA TO'fi/ARDS INDIAN RESIDENTS IN CEYLON DURING THE COLONIAL PERIOD Even during the colonial pcriocl, thc Government of India showed concern for the welfare of Indians scttlcd in Ceylon. It permitted the emigration of the Indian labourers to Ccylon on the express understanding that Indians would enjoy equality of status rvith the Sinhalese. The Government of India insisted that its prior approval should be sought, before any change in the Laws of Ceylon relating to Indian labourers was introduced.2Ta In the old Imperial Legislature, Pundit Madan Mohan Malaviya introduced a motion demanding the abolition of thc indcntured labour system. Lord Hardinge, the Mceroy of India, in responsc to the Indian demand, announced that the Government intended to abolish it [1916)."t rhe Government of India sent a commission consisting of Marjoribanks and Ahmad Thmbi Marakkayar on the initiative of Madras Govcrnmcnt to report on the conditions of Indians settled in Ceylon. Yielding tr: thc persistent demand of the Indian people, the Government passed thc Immigration Act of 192?.276 The Government agreed to permit the emigration of Indians to other countries oniy on the condition that Indians should bc treated equal to the indigenous people. The Government of India continucd to allow the emigration of Indians to Ceylon even after passing the 1922 Act. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIAN RESIDENTS BEFORI 1948 The reaction against Indians in Ceylon began in the wake of the world de- pression of the early 1930's. Owing to the economic depression and the consequent unemployment in Ceylon, the Government of Ceylon, yielding to the pressure of the Sinhalese people, decided to dispense with the servic- es of Indiair labourers who had been employed by the Government on the basis of daiiy wages. The Government decided to retire compulsorily all non - Ceylonese daily - paid workers in Govetnment service in 1939. The people who were worst affected by the Government's decision were Indians who had been employed in Government services in the City of Colombo further advance he would demand and get his Tun&t for himself and the twenty labourers, the totai debt being put down at rupees 600, and he would hawk his round ti1l he got a superintendent to give him, say, rupees 750. Of this, rupees six hundred would go to the superintendent of the first estate who would thereupon discharge the Kangani and.his gang of Z0 labourers, and the balance ofrupees 150 would be taken by theKangani ostensibiy to give to the labourers; but, whether it reached them or no, their debit in the books of the new estate would now average Rs. 37l8/- (Rupees 750/20)." 274. Babu Lal Gupta, op. cit., p. 5. 275. Ibid. 276 . Ibid., p. 6. "-* rFacets of Contemporary History 137 and formed harbor workers and the staff of the raiiways and Public Workers Department.2TT Thus even before.independence, the Ceylonese Government dis;riminated against the Indian settlers with a view to protecting the eco- nomic opportunities of the Sinhalese from Indian competition. "Ordinances regarding the disposal of Crown lands were so drafted as to virtually prohibit those of Indian origin from acquiring Crown land. Indians on the island were in fact prevented from flshing in Ceylonese-waters and In- dian entrepleneurs could not obtain autobus franchises. During the war, the Government took the import of essential foodstuffs and though Government - sponsored cooperatives distributed essential foodstuffs and collected home - gro*r, rice from the country side. These measures were designed to pre- uent profiteering in scarce food supplies. But they also eliminated the Indian trader as middleman. Subsequently, port labourers and other Government municipal labourers have been largely replaced by Ceylonese. Thus, the free scope of economic activity for Indians has been gradually restricted'"278 The Ceylonese Government not only took decision to deny Indian res- idents economic opportunities but also adopted measures to restrict their political rights. The concentration of the estate workers of Indian origin in certain districts "gave them clear majorities in six constituencies and, as an ethnic minority relatively well organized, they tended to vote in a block".27e Inthe 1947 election, the Ceyion In&an Congress set up seven candidates in the estate areas and six of these were elected to Parliament. Because of the voting strength in Parliament, they sometimes held the balance of porver.Z80 The Sinhalese did not want the Indian residents to hold a decisive influence in the politics of the country. Ever since they obtained a majority in the populaily elected State Council in 1931, they worked consistently to whittle down the political rights of Indian residents. In 1937, Indians did not get village franchise rights even though they were extended to other minorities such as the Burgeri. To reduce the political rights of the Indians, the national franchise was also restricted. For example, in 1939, some 725,0O0Indians had voting right. The strict application of franchise laws reduced the right to vote to 168,000Indians in 1943.281 THE FORMATION OF THE CEYLON INDIAN CONGRESS The Thmil plantation workers who conslituted the bulk of Indian residents in Ceylon suffered economic and political disadvantages on account of the dis- 277. WH. Wriggins, op. cit., p.214. 278. \\IH. Wriggins, op. cit., p. ?20. 779. W.H. Wriggins, op. cit., p.2?2. 280. Ibid., p. ZZZ. 281. Ibid., p. 225. 4-_ --rl I l138 Facets of Contemporary History crimination practiced by the Sinhalese even during the colonial period. Their economic condition was bad because they received low wages and lived in miserable conditions. The whittling down of their franchise rights deprived them of the opportunity to exert political pressure on the Sinhalese majority through their elected representatives. There was no organized representative body to voice their grievance pubiicly. It slowly dawned on them that the only way to overcome their political and economic handicaps were that they should develop an effective political organization and powerful trade union so that they might play a significant and distinctive role in the politics of Ceylon. The formation of Ceylon Indian Congress [CIC) in July 1939, as a political party fulfilled a long felt collective need of the minority ethnic community. The trade union wing of the new political party, known as Ceylon Indian La- bour Union, was set up in March 1940.282 Both the new political party and its trade union wing secured the support of plantation workers. In 1947, the membership of the Ceylon Indian Congress Labour Union rose to i 16,500. The C.l.C. became the representative of the interest of all the resident Indians in the island. In 1946, it organized a hartal in protest against the Soulbury Constitutional Reforms. In support of its call, over 290,000 Indians and 50,000 non - Indian labourers came out of the work spots.283 This proved the hoid of the C.I.C. over the Indian ethnic minority. In 1950, the Ceylon Indian Congress changed its name into Ceylon Workers Congress [C.\MC.). THE STATUS OF INDIAN RESIDENTS DURING THE BRITISH COLONIAL RULE On the basis of the Donoughmore Commission, universal franchise was in- troduced in 1931.28a This measure enabled 100,000 persons of Indian origin to get voting rights. Now the Thmil plantation workers could send their own representatives to the Legislative Council. Jwo members, M. Peri Sundar- am and S.P. Vaidilingam were elected in 1931 and Peri Sundaram became Minister of Labour, Industry and Commerce.Zss After the formation of the Ceylon Indian Congress in 1939, the new political organization of the plan- tation workers espoused the cause of the Indian residents in Ceylon. In the 1947 general election which was the last election held under the coloniai rule before Ceylon became independent in 1948, the Ceylon Indian Congress contested and won 7 parliamentary seats.286 Mayan Viji, op. cit., p. 6. WH. Wriggini, op. .it., p.222. Mayan Viji, op. cit., p. 9. Ibid., p. 11 . Ibid., p. 1 1, The seven Indian Members of the Parliament, S. Thondaman, C.V, Velu Pillai, K. Kumaravelu, K. Rajalingam, G.R. Motha, D. Ramanujam and S.M. Subbiah. ZBZ. 283. 281. 285. 286. Gr- THE STATUS OF INDIANS AFTER CEYLON BECAME INDEPENDENT The Indian residents could not directly elect their representatives to Parlia- "r."t^n.r the deprivation of their citizenship rights in 1948 under the Citi- ;;;;hrp A.t of 1948 and the disenfranchisement of Thmil plantation workers u"a.. it " Indian and Pakistani [Residents) Citizenship Act of 1 949 ' Between id;t andlg77, when orr." ,grin Mr. S. Thondaman was directly electedto prrto.rl"r,, the Government 6f Ceylon nominated members to represent the plantation Tamils.287 In his study of the plantation Thmils of sri Lanka, Mayan viji observes' "Th;:i;;l; ,.i of discrimination which reduced the plantation workers and "if-r", p.[pfe of Indian origin to mere slaves and devastated their lives was the .n".t*.nt of the Citizenihip Act in 1948.'28s The first act of the Govern- *.", "i independent Ceylon was to deprive persons of In&an origin settled in Ceylon of ih.i, citizenihip rights whlih they had enjoyed under the British colonial rule. One Sinhaleie Me*ber of Parliament gave expression to the fear that Sinhalese in general entertained about the energetic and hardwork- ing Indian residents. -He obsetued in the House of Representatives' "l am not certain about the Government, but I am myself inspired by a fear com- plex.. But believe me we are afraid and that am why we_feel that we have to restrict the composition of our nationals - of our population in this country."zse The object of the Sinhalese ru1ing elite that came to power on the attainment of ,rrtio.rrl independence was tt drive out of Ceylon the large indian population2eo that had ,rot only become a politicai factor in national polltics, blt posed a threat to the Ceylonese commercial interest. The Citizenship Act of 1948 created two types of citizens, those bi' de- scent and those by registration. As its provisions were- extremely rigid, it was impossible for Indiarr"residents settled in Ceylon to obtain citizenship under boih categories. For the majority of Tamil plantation workers did not possess the birth"certificates of their fathers or could not even produce their own birth certiiicri.r. il,o"gh the Citizenship Act applied to both Sinhalese and Indian residents, orrly pJrso.rs of Indian origin were required to produce evi- dence for acquiri.rg th"it citizenship.Zel Thus the Government of Ceylon suc- cessfully pre,rerrtef, the Indian residents from becoming Ceylonese citizens' Facets of Contemporary History 139 787. Mayan Viji, op. cit., p. I L 288. \Arhere Serfdom Thrives, p. 8. 289. House of Representative,-Vol. I! C. l77l [Aug. 19, 1948], quoted in WH' Wriggins' op' cit., p. 216. 290. a..o.ai"g-to 1953 census, there u,ere 990,000 persons of Indian origin settled in Ceylon' Of these, some 800,000 were estate labourers and their families' 291. Mayan Viji, op. cit., p. 14. 4- 140 Facets of Contemporary History Having "stemmed by swamping'_by the Thmil plantation workers through rhe Citiz;ship Act of 1948, ih""Gor".nment of Ceylon enacted another 4., in lg4g, k rown as the Indian and Pakistani fResidents'] Citizenship Act "iig+g. Tire oblect was to reduce the number of Indians to a very great extent from becoming citizens of Ceylon so that they could not be a threat to the economic a.d"politicai i.ttereit of the Sinhalese. The Government oi i"Jir considered th; Bi[ thoroughly unsatiifactory and raised objections' The harsh provisions of the Bill maJe it for the Thmil plantation workers dif- ficult to become citizens. So the Ceylon india Congress called for a b-oycott of the Bill and i"struciea the Tamil plantation workers not to aPpiy for-the ;;dri.;il r.,d", the Act. However, the C.l'C. withdrew its bovcottze2 a *8ek before the lasf Jate set for the fiiing of applications [14'h August 1951) The frantic last - minute rush did not help the-indian residents' Many Indi- an reside.rts lost their opportunity to register themselves' "\Mhen the final ;;;;"r taken Zl) ,OS+'^pplications ha-d beet made requesting citizenship for 825,000 [9070) persons of Indian origin'"Ze3 The narration of the historical origins of Indo - Ceylon political relations .1".;1yl;Jicates that ihe politic"l-anJ lega1 status of.Indians settled in Cev- lon has been the main issle that has acted as a barrier in the establishment ;;;;;d - ,,.igtUo,rdv relations between India and Sri Lanka lyh.ose cultural ,ni polrti.rt i"tr.it go back to- the d'ays o.f Asoti lh: Great' India and Cey- lon inherited the prob"t"]n as a legacy of th" British imperial rule which had extended over both the countrieL as British citizens, Indians could not be Jir.ii..rirr"ted against by the Sinhalese who, like the resident Indians, were common subjects of the British Crown' Both Indians and Sinhalese shared the benefits of the Common Law as common British subjects' The problem ;],i" rr",.r, of Indian residents settied in Ceylon then lay moribund' only when the two countries became independent after the end of the n.itlrl, i*perialism, thl national interest of India and Ceylon^diverged and each, now a sovereign nation, pursued its national interest' Nter 1948, the Indians settled in -Zylon became unwanted persons who took away the em- ployment opportuniti.s of the native Slnhaleie. In other words, the Sri Lan- kan Government ;fi ;;i r"grrd Indians as the sons of the soil enjoying equal ,-rgk; with the Sinhalese. i6"y were thought^of as intruders who came to C?vf"" U..ause tiiy had lacked opportuniiy for.emplovment in their own land. This anti - trrt..r psychologiiaj attitude is clearly revealed in the letter that Prime irlinister DS. S"rr"rlake wrote to Prime Minister Pandit Nehru J frair, when fr" rria, "I do not think I misrepresent the "facts of History" when I st"t" that Indian Labour did not come to Ceylon to settle down per- 292. 293. MayanViji, op. cit., P. i6 Ibid -Facets of Contemporary History l4l manently in this country, but primarily to seize the opportunities for employ- ment which the coffee, tea and rubber plantations so generously offered."Zsa The contention of Ceylonese Prime Minister was not accepted by his Indi- an counterpart. Pandit Nehru held the view that Indians settled in Ceylon should be treated as Ceylonese and there should be no distinction between the native Sinhalese and persons of Indian origin in respect of citizenship rights. Indian nationals went to Ceylon on the express understanding that th-ey would not be unfairly discriminated against. This Indian point_of view he asserted in his letter to Ceylon Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake. He observed "One of the conditions for emigration to other countries to which the Government of India have always attached the Utmost importance from the very beginning of Indian Emigration has been that an emigrant labourer should t. giu"r, ficilities to settle in the country to which he emigrated on equal terms with members of the indigenous population.'2es CONCLUSION The course of dipiomatic negotiations between India and Ceylon illustrate-s the difficulty of a big rising power such as India in its dealing with a sryall^ nation like Sri Lankaiuffe.ittg f.o* fear complex. To avoid being accused of adopting a blg - brother attitude, India made many concessions which were criticizJ by ihe representatives of Tamil Nadu. Though foreign affairs are a Union subject,rrrd"t the Indian Federal System, the Government of India consulted the State Government of Thmil Nadu when discussions were held before the conclusion of the Sirimavo - Shastri pact of 1964.2e6 Lal Bhahadur Shastri admitted that "he consulted the Congress President and the Madras leaders before arriving at the Agreement"zeT but he was not sure whether they were "fully in agreement with the'terms of the settlement with the Ceylon Prime Minister.;zs8 In his view, the important question was "to reach the friendly agreement without leaving Indian people to suffer."2es ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY . \MH. Wriggins, Ceylon: Dilemmas of a New Nation, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey [1960), p.272. 794. Quoted in Babu Lal Gupta, op. cit., p. 8. 295. Quoted in Babu La1 Gupta, op. cit., p. 8.296. Madras: Legislative Assembly Debates, Vol. 7J//i [Nos. 1 -27).3 March I956 (tAQ 139], pp. 231 - 232. The Hindu,9 November 1964,p.7. tbid. Ibid. 797. 70a 299. 7142 Facets of Contemporary History Babu Lal Gupta, Political ancl Civil Status of Indians in Ceylon, Gaya Prasad and Sons, Agra [1963), P. 1' Mayan Viji, \Mhere Scrfdom Thrives; The Plantation Thmils of Sri Lanka, Tamil lnformation Centrc, Madras (1987), p' 2' Babu Lal Gupta, oP. cit', P' 4. Babu Lal Gupta, oP. cit-, P. '{' Mayan Viji, oP. cit-, P. 1. Maya., Vijl oP. cit., P. l. \MH. Wriggins, oP. cit., PP. 55 - 56' Sachi Ponnambalam, Thc National Question and the Tamil Liberation, Tamil Information ientrc andZed Bioks, London (1993), p. 7, quoted in Mayan Vijl oP. cit., P. 2.. Ref.pp.4-6ante. Kangani, a Thmil word mcaning a supervisor or an overseer' Babu La1 Gupta, oP. cit., P. 11. Mayan Vijr, oP. cit., P. 3. rbid. Babu Lal GuPta, oP. cit., P. 14. Mayan Vijl oP. cit., P. 5. Babu Lal Gupta, oP. cit', P. 14. Ibid., p. 15. The following passage from the repqr! submitted by the Mar- i"rttrLif" rrd Mrrr1<1q"V"ito ttrJGovernment of India on the working of the Kangani system is quoted to illustrate the argument mentioned above' "If the debt due [through the Kangani) to an estate by.each labourer of ,;"rrg of, say, 2g'averag"ed rupees S0, tht Kangani.*i+t ask for Rs' 10 ;;;;'p.; fr.ia. ti t'elot it;+9 debt againsteach labourer would be ,"p""i ten more in theLook of the estate, tholeh the extra rupees ten ;[ht; ,il or ,ny of 6r"r.h_the labourer. If the Kangani was refused i-hJfurth", ,drrrr.i he would demand and get his Tundu for himself and ;il;;;at l"bo,rr"*, the total debt being put down at rupees 600, and i"-*o"ld hawk his round till he got a superintendent to give him, say, *p;"r ,50.- Of thir, *p""s six hrindred would go to the. superintendent of the first estate wfio woutd thereupon discharge the Kangani and his g*g "r 20 labourers, and the balance of rupees 150 would be taken by oo a a a a a a t a a a a Facets of Contemporary History 143 the Kangani ostensibly to give to the labourers; but, whether it reached ;i;;;;", their debit in ihe books of the new estate would now average Rs. 3718/- (Rupees 750/20)." Babu Lal Gupta, oP. cit., P. 5. rbid. Ibid., p. 6. V[H. Wriggins, oP. cit., P- 214- \MH. Wriggins, oP. c(t., P.220- WH. Wriggins, oP. ctt., P.222. lbid., p.222. Ibid., p.225. Mayan Viji, oP. cit., P. 6. \MH. Wriggins, oP. clt., P.222. Mayan Vijl op. cit., P. 9. Ibid., p. 11. Ibid., p. 11, The seven Indian Members of the Parliament, S. Thondaman, C v, iz.f-" piflri, K. Kumaravelu, K. Rajalingam, G'R' Motha' D" Ramanu- jam and S.M. Subbiah. Mayan Viji, op. cit., P- 11. \Mhere Serfdom Thrives, P. 8. House of Representative; Vol. I[ C. l77l (Aug' 19, 1948)' quoted in \MH. Wriggins, op. cit., P. 216. According to 1953 census, there were 990,000 persons of Indian origin ,"i f"J iri Ceylon. OT-,t "r", some 800,000 were estate labourers and their families. Mayan Viji, op. cit., P. 14. Mayan Viji, op. cit., P. 16. ibid. Quoted in Babu I-al Gupta, op. cit., p. 8. Quoted in Babu Lal Gupta, op' cit., p. 8. a a a -- 7LM Facets of ContemPorary HistorY . Madras: Legislative Assembly Debates, Vol. KII (Nos' I - 27).3 March 19s6 (lAQ 139), pp. 231 -737. . The Hindu, 9 November 7964, p.7. . Ibid. . Ibid.